Month: April 2020

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April 23 – 30, 2020 Back to Colorful Colorado and amazing friendships!

We learned that Colorado was “opening up” somewhat from the COVID-19 regulations. We said goodbye to Arizona – we’ll be back to visit the Saguaro National Park and many other places when the opportunity comes up. We’re looking forward to familiar home-turf and seeing our many friends and family, with or without masks & hugs! Its been 8 months since we launched our RV life adventure… no regrets – we love it!

On our way through Tucson into Phoenix we stopped for a one-nighter at Matt and Jayle’s house. It was fun to catch up on family news, see the girls, Abby and Lizzie – and of course the puppies!

We traveled Route 66! This gas station brought a flood of memories; the old gas pump and an A&W with authentic draft root bear! We noticed the price of regular gas was dropping (2.14 here). We saw gas as low as 1.43 in some places! As we traveled through New Mexico we enjoyed the wide open landscapes with big sky views!

In Colorado safe and sound! Oh what a blessings we have received! Our friend Jesse from Penrose, CO has a place that he built to include RV hook-ups! We are “camped” a few miles east of Canon City and can enjoy the beautiful views of mountains and sunsets in the western skies!

Our first weekend, we were delighted to attend our home church again and see a lot of our friends – through our car windows! This is quite the novelty, having church in the parking lot because of COVID-19 regulations (no more than 10 people can congregate and must maintain a 6 foot “social distance”). We estimated that there were over 100 attending – honking and waving at each other before and after service. It was so good to hear Pastor David preach again! He got excited when people would honk instead of saying “Amen”! What a fun and refreshing morning gathering together and being encouraged with God’s Word!

After church we helped Jesse and Barbara host a birthday party cookout for Mat. We tried to hold to the “rule of 10” and social distancing (don’t tell about what you see here -LOL!) We roasted corn on the cob and grilled Elk, Bison, and Beef burgers – so good! We had such an amazing day hanging out with our long time friends – it was one of those days that will be a memory for a long time!

Jesse and Barbara have mules and donkeys! We watched how they care for them every day and how the animals loved the interaction (and their feeding times!). Lorree wanted to ride so Barbara prepared Milton for Lorree. It was a great time, and beautiful to watch during the sunset that evening.

Ye-Haw!

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March 27 – April 22, 2020 SOWER Project #4: Phoenix Christian Preparatory School

A “Safe-Harbor” – exactly what we prayed for!

With all the closures and orders to self quarantine and isolate in place because of the COVID-19 virus, we prayed about where to go for the month of April. We needed a safe place but also wanted to volunteer somewhere. After communicating with the SOWER Office, they shared that there was one place available nearby in Arizona. A school in downtown Phoenix, AZ was willing to provide a “safe Harbor” to any SOWERS that needed it. We were humbled and overjoyed at the opportunity given to us! Thank you Lord for another unexpected adventure!!

We were delighted to learn that there would be three other couples to serve with! These couples (Wes & Carolyn Strausser, Mil & Linda Sutter, and Jerry & Carol Chesser) had already been serving at the school for several months and had decided to shelter-in-place during this time of uncertainty. Jerry & Carol were the GL’s and were a great leadership couple for all of us. As you can see we were camped right on the H.S Track! We met together in the “Arizona Room” for our welcome and introductory meeting, church services, and many meals!

Lets get to work! The school was closed to all students as ‘Stay-at-Home” orders were enacted throughout the entire nation because of the COVID-19 situation. This was a great time for the school to paint several classrooms while they were empty. The ladies painted 3 different classrooms – changing a lot of bright walls to something more mellow!

There were a couple of modular buildings that needed repair and paint to bring them up to the standard the school has set for it’s campus property. We were able to repair, caulk, paint, and seal up the outside of these buildings. We had sunny days – but not too hot. We enjoyed the chance to soak in some vitamin D and build relationships during our work.

It was Easter Week while we were there. We had a very special time together for Good Friday. Wes and Carolyn smoked a beef brisket on their pellet grill/oven – it was melt in your mouth tender, SO good! We all brought food to share, and we enjoyed a fantastic meal together. Later we all gathered to watch a Chris Tomlin Concert on Jerry & Carols outdoor “theater”. As we contemplated the death of our Lord for our sins, we were able to praise and worship together as we looked forward to the glorious resurrection to come! A very full and joyful weekend!

And here comes the “Easter Bunny”! We were all surprised to find goodies at our door in the morning! We had a great resurrection service with Jerry preaching and all of us singing and sharing. Then we enjoyed another fantastic meal together – smoked ham and all the fix’ns – this group knows how to cook! We decided this was going to be a “10 lb Project” (gaining ten pounds :).

More work! The two modular buildings that we refurbished on the outside, also needed to be gutted on the inside to get them ready for future classrooms. Our last week was spent taking everything out down to the studs. We worked hard to get all the carpet up… whew!

The Ladies finalized the painting on the modulars outside, sewed labels, sorted and organized school supplies, and helped prepare parts for the making of face masks that the school was producing for the health care workers in the city. Lots of other “odds and ends” jobs were accomplished by our team. It’s good to have a purpose in our travels that can help others and honor God!

We looked forward to our regular Sunday morning breakfasts, having church services together, and moon lit nights, our stay at PCPS was wonderful! We became a “family” encouraging each other and praying for each other.

This was an amazing month for us as we thrived through the COVID-19 scare. We never felt isolated (though we were) or quarantined (though we were) as we lived life together with these wonderful people! Memories will last a life time!

As we said our goodbyes one by one, the school leadership came to pray with us for safe journeys and strong health. It will be great to meet up and work with these SOWER friends again someday!